Elastic-fluid compressor.



lPatented May 24, 1904.

lPATENT l OFFICE y -L'sT-lo-f-LUID COMPRESSOR.

Y. sPEoI'FIcAulIoNfrn-llg .part Letts Patnt N9. 760,843, dated May 24, 1904. l, l

` 'Applicata flied aprilia), 1903.

:To 'rtZZ whom it may concern.: Be it `known that I, HENRY BLAND, a subjectl of the King of Great Britain, and a resident of Ashley street, Vlave'rley,v near Sydney, in thel` State of New South'Wales and Commonwealthv of Australia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in and Relating to Elastic-FluidCompressors,of which thefollowing with the primary kobjects ofmore completely effecting the cooling of the compressed elastic fluid and of making better provisionfor the action ofthe valves. I accomplish these objects by the novel construction and arrange-1l mentof the cylinders, pistons, and valves, by means of ywhich the elasticfiiuidissprayed while being compressed and the cylinder andv cylinder-head maintained c ool by the constant circulation around them of water or other cool-` ing medium. v f

I am aware that heretofore various arrangements have been proposed for they cooling of the compressor-cylinders, chiefly by circulate ing water in a' jacket or jacketssurrounding the cylinders; but by my invention I utilize c .Y practically the entire surface of cylinder and Vcylinder-head for cooling purposes, leaving.l

less interposing metal than hitherto between the cooling medium and the heated gas. .If

am aware also that it has been proposed to spray the elastic fluid under compression .by means of forcepumps orw other expenditure of power.` 1 c In order that the invention may be clearly understood, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure1 is a sectional elevation, and Fig. 2 a plan, of my improvements, while Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are transverse sections through the lines A A, B B, and C C, Fig. 1, respectively-i The same numerals refer to the same parts throughout.- i h The cylinder-barrel 1 is provided on its inner periphery with spiral grooves 2, formed in the cylinder-casting, within which is a thin liner 3. The cooling medium enters at the inlet 4 and iows through the spirally-formed serial N015a546. (No model.) l

passaget'o the outlet 5, thus bringing the' cooling medium closer than heretofore to the heat'- ed gas and rendering the cooling more effective. .'The cylinder-headv 6 is formed to 4meet the purposefof an emission-valveand is provided with'a hollow neck 7 passing through a suitable stung-box 8 and-glandv 9 in the bonnet orcover 10, thus permitting afree vier-:

tical movement. Y

11 is a'spring for the purpose of returning thehead or valve to its seating. x

The neck 7 has a central inlet-pipe'12, with a concentric pipeor passage .13 to'permit the waste cooling-water to flow upward todischarge.` The body of the head 6 has a spiral groove or channel 14 behind its lower face 15,y the said groove being fed-froml the central inlet-pipe 12,- the'lwaste water passing out through the passage 13 in the neck. f The lower' facef 15 of the head is comparatively thin and is approximately conical for the purpose here: inafter explained.

The internal spray'is operated bya plunger 16, Xed to the lower face l15 of the' cylinder# head. Thesaid plunger has perforations at 17 in communication with a central passage y18, provided at its lower end with a small ball-valve 23 for suctionpurposes. A barrel 19 forthe plunger is screwed centrally in the .compressing trunk-piston, leaving spaces for suitable packing 21, and at its lower end is a n back-pressure valve 22 and flexible supplypipe. The lcompressing-piston 1s a composite one formed'of a body part 24' and an outer l sleeve 25, provided with the usual piston-rings 26, fitting the cylinder-barrel. At its lower edge is a screwed-in ring 27 for regulating the' extent ofthe 'opening between the, said body and sleeve. formed to fit within -the sleeve 25, and it has eyes 28 for the wrist-,pins 29 of the connecting-kv The body 211 of the piston 'is rods, which are placed well up yin the piston,"A

as shown clearly in Fig. 1.v The upper edge 30 of the piston-body forms, with the lip 31 of the sleeve 25, the intake-valve. When the intake-valve is closed, the face of the piston is flush with the lip 31;

32 represents air-passages leading to the intake-valve. I

The face 33 of tlle'piston is dislled conically IOO to correspond with the lower face of the cylinder-head.

34 is the compressed-air outlet leading to receiver.

The operation of my improved apparatus is as follows: When the piston fully recedes, the barrel 19 is filled with water, preferably by gravity, from a tank at a higher elevation than the perforations 17, which water is retained in the barrel by the back-pressure valve 22, which closes at the completion of the descent. On the upstroke of thepiston the barrel ascends on the plunger 16 and forces the water up the small central passage 18 and through the 'perforations 17 and is thus sprayed into the volume of elastic Huid under compression. Cool Water from a storage-tank or other source enters the inlet 4in the cylinder-barrel' and iiows around the spiral passage formed by the grooves 2 to the outlet 5,' while water passes down the pipe 12 and circulates through the spiral channel 14 in the cylinder-head. The cylinder-head has a slight upward movement sufficient to permit delivery ofthe compressed charge. On the downstroke of the piston the body 24 moves first within the sleeve 25 to the extent permitted by the screwed ring 27, and thence carries the sleeve with it throughout the stroke. On the return stroke the piston-body then moves upward within the sleeve, and thus closes the opening of the intakevalve. AThe face of the piston is dished, so that at about the completion of the compression stroke the cylinder-head comes into contact with any surplus of water between the two faces, the water being put into motion without hammen A great advantage of my construction is the facility afforded for inspection of the interior parts. It will be seen that by raising the bonnet the cylinder-head and the plunger maybe lifted out clear of the other parts of the appay ratus. Y

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In an apparatus for compressing an elas tic fluid, the combination with a cylinder and cylinder-head, of a hollow plunger iixed to the cylinder-head and disposed centrally in the cylinder, a ytrunk-piston arranged to reciprocate in the cylinder for compressing the fluid,

-'a barrel movable with the trunk-piston and inclosing the hollow plunger, said hollow plunger being provided with spraying-perforations adjacent to the cylinder-head, and means for introducing water into said barrel behind the plunger, substantially as described.

2. In an apparatus for compressing an elastic fluid, the combination with a cylinder and piston, of a cylinder-head movable toward and from a seat in the end of the cylinder, means for yieldingly holding th'e cylinder-head to its seat, a bonnet fixed to the cylinder over the cylindrical head, a hollow neck fixed on the head and movable therewith endwise in a stuifing-box on Ythe bonnet and open at its outer end, a water-inlet pipe arranged concentrically within said neck, and a spiral groove formed in said cylinder-head and communicating at one end with said inlet-pipe and at its other end with a passage communicating with the space between the inlet-pipe and thc hollow neck, substantially as described.

3. In an apparatus for compressing an elastic Huid, the combination with a cylinder, of a conical cylinder-head movable toward and from'a seat in the end of the cylinder, a spring for yieldingly holding the cylinder-head to its seat, a bonnet iixed to the cylinder over the cylinder-head, an outlet leading from the cylinder between said head and bonnet, ahollow plunger rigid with said head and disposed centrally within the cylinder, a trunk-piston arranged to reciprocate in the cylinder for compressing the fluid and having a concave face corresponding to the conical shape of the cylinder-head, a barrel movable with the trunkpiston and movably iitted on said plunger, said hollow plunger being provided with sprayingperforations adjacent to the cylinder-head, and means for introducing water into the barrel behind the plunger, substantially as described.

4. In an apparatus for compressing an elastic fluid, the combination with a cylinder and cylinder-head, of a piston arranged to reciprocate in the cylinder and comprising an outer sleeve provided at one end with an inwardlyprojecting annular lip and at its other end With an vinwardly-projecting adjustable collar, the hollow piston-body open at one end and fitted within said sleeve and having a limited movement between said lip and collar, air-passages in the outer periphery' of the body of the piston and extending at one end to the interior of the piston and at the other end to the edge ofthe piston-body adjacent to the said lip, the said collar being screwed into the inner end of the sleeve, whereby the movement of the hollow piston in the sleeve may be regulated, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY BLAND.

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